PEOPLE who publicly vilify multinationals for tax avoidance clearly do not understand the concept of raising state revenue.

It is the duty of joint stock companies to reduce their tax bill in the interests of shareholders and customers. There is no ‘moral’ dynamic in either the raising or paying of taxation. We cannot have some sort of committee making subjective decisions on what they feel a company should pay.

There is either tax law or not. Avoidance is both legal and moral. Evasion is illegal. Politicians can huff and puff, but there is no way around this.

If I ran a multinational in a country which tried a system not commensurate with its own law I would cease to trade in that jurisdiction.

Indeed I would have no option.

Godfrey Bloom, UKIP MEP for Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire.